Indexes Flat to Begin Thursday

BCE, Telus in Vogue

Canada's main stock index was little changed after the opening bell on Thursday as declines in the financial sector were offset by firmer energy shares, as well as gains in BCE Inc. after the company reported quarterly results.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged out gains of 20.09 points to kick off Thursday’s session at 15,350.67

This corporate earnings season has been strong. Of the S&P 500 companies that had reported as of Wednesday morning, 78% had announced better-than-expected earnings, according to Thomson Reuters.

Aside from earnings and data, politics, and central banking news are set to be on investors' minds. On Wednesday, U.S. congressional leaders arrived at a two-year budget deal, in order to raise spending on military and domestic areas by close to $300 billion.